#hivehead

(art by Ellever-10 on Furaffinity)

As the staple warrior species in the core set of Starfinder, it would only make sense that the vesk would have their own signature melee weapons. The most prominent of these, however, is the doshko, to the point that at least one vesk weapon has a named derived from it.

The doshko is a two-handed hafted weapon with typically three to four long triangular blades stacked on top of each other, facing forward. This gives it the same heft and swing as you’d expect from a war axe, but rather than cleave entirely through foes like an axe, the doshko’s multiple blades means that it’s much more likely the wielder will embed the weapon deep in their foes and then wrench it free, leaving terrible wounds behind that bleed profusely.

In the modern era, these weapons have variants for various modern materials and cutting edges, as well as versions that utilize white-hot heating elements, supercooled metals, electrical charges, and indeed fearsome plasma blades, but in truth these are all based on a very ancient design, harkening back to the oldest days of vesk history.

And with that history comes devotees that see the doshko as not just a weapon but a symbol of might and honor. Any fool can wield one in battle, but only a true devotee understands what each fang means, and earns the right to add each one to their arsenal. (The individual blades of a doshko are called fangs, by the way. Perhaps the very first paleolithic doshkos actually used the oversized fangs of some mighty Veskian predator?) Either way, as these specialists grow in mastery, they allow themselves to modify or switch to doshkos with greater and greater numbers of fangs to represent their mastery, and to those that understand their form, such blades command respect from those that witness them.

Traditionally, this martial art is associated with the vesk people, but as the Veskarium slowly transitions more towards a less imperialistic mindset (despite resistance), the art has spread.

Naturally, in order to be inducted into this martial art one must have the advanced weapon proficiency to wield a doshko in the first place, and such inductees gain the right to the first fang, the Tooth of Eager Spirit, whose only requirement is the earnest desire to learn. Additionally, a solarian with a solar weapon may benefit from all the arts of this martial style as long as their weapon takes the form of a doshko.

The second tooth is the Tooth that Seeks Honor, as these warriors learn to adapt themselves and their fighting style to overcome foes that refuse to simply be struck down. Whenever these warriors miss with their doshko, they can alter their grip and their focus to extend their reach, focus on disarming foes, breaking their gear, or trip up their foes, overcoming their previous failed strikes and their foe.

Next is the Tooth That Bites Steel, in which the specialist strives to demonstrate the superiority of the Doshko by improving their skill at disarming, sundering, and tripping, and even applying the critical effect of the weapon on a perfect success even though they didn’t technically deal any harm.

The fourth is the Tooth that Reaps the Unworthy. With it, these warriors can apply deadly wounds to foes with a critical blow instead of any other critical effect they would normally get (So basically normal, frosthaft, and storm doshkos). Additionally, their focus on wounding blows allows them to subtly influence what area of the body they wound with an expenditure of resolve, and makes such wounding attacks harder to resist.

True masters, however, acquire the fifth and final Tooth that Commands Terror, either modifying their existing weapons, custom building them that way, or even manifesting a fifth blade with minor magic. No matter what, their confidence makes them hard to scare, and their prowess allows them to strike fear into others.

This archetype is all about adapting to foes and applying critical hits with their signature weapon. Being able to  turn a miss into an opportunity to inhibit a foe on later turns is fun, though naturally you should build for those combat maneuvers in order to actually capitalize on that. Naturally, solarian, soldier, and other martial classes will do their best here, but don’t underestimate the idea of other classes if you plan on a melee build for them.

As befitting a species that puts such value on personal glory, it’s not uncommon for rivalries to form between students of this style, even among other species. This is especially true if said rivals find themselves on opposite sides of the same conflict, as their own skill and performance is implied to reflect on which side is favored by Darmoritosh. Of course, those that do not worship the Conquerer probably develop more friendly rivalries instead, seeking to demonstrate their mastery over themselves and their weapon.

On that note, this archetype might be a good template for archetypes that favor other weapons in a category, such as battle ribbons or curve blades and the like, though the GM has final say on what counts as the same category for these theoretical homebrew archetypes.

Fully expecting a stealth mission into an enemy orbital station, the party finds it weirdly deserted. As they investigate further, they realize the station was overtaken by a neuralwasp infestation, and now what’s left of the survivors persist as hiveheads. What’s more, the station admin seems to have retained his skill with a doshko, making for a deadly guardian.

Vikkodas was officially declared a nature preserve world five years ago, but visitors are still allows as long as they agree to be monitored and do nothing to disrupt the local ecosystem. Ko Bolkunas, a famous doshko master, had taken to using the wilds of the world to practice in peace… that is until he was found dead with a plasma-scorched hole in his chest, clearly the work of a contract killer.